Motor driven operating mechanism for revolving doors

ABSTRACT

A motor driven revolving door operating mechanism including a main gear connected to the revolving door shaft, a centrifugal brake assembly, a gear train assembly connected between the main gear and centrifugal brake assembly and a drive motor connected to the gear train assembly, the motor being disposed in the same horizontal plane as the main gear; the main gear, centrifugal brake assembly, gear train assembly and motor all being positioned within a housing in spaced, parallel, closely adjacent horizontal planes to thereby form a low-profile motor driven operating mechanism adapted for selective installation in either an overhead or floor-type revolving door installation.

United States Patent [1 1 Sheckells [451 Feb. 27, 1973 1 MOTOR DRIVEN OPERATING MECHANISM FOR REVOLVING DOORS [76] Inventor: Amuel E. Sheckells, R. R. No. 3

Heckel Road, PO. Box 77A, Evansville, Ind.

[22] Filed: Oct. 20, 1971 211 Appl. No.: 190,716

[52] US. Cl. ..49/43, 74/606, 188/185 [51] Int. Cl. ..E05d 15/02 [58] Field of Search ....49/43, 340, 349; 74/606, 640,

[56] V ReIerences Cited V UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,307,660 3/1967 Sheckells ..49/43 x 3,308,912 3/1967 Sheckells ....49/43 x 3,373,528

3/1968 Tinder et a]. ..49/349 7/1969 Pickles ..74/606X 10/1967 Sheckells ..l88/l85 Primary Examiner-J. Karl Bell Attorney-Brady, OBoyle & Gates 571 ABSTRACT A motor driven revolving door operating mechanism including amaingear connected to the revolving door shaft, a centrifugal brake assembly, a gear train assembly connected between the main gear and centrifugal brake assembly and a drive motor connected to the gear train assembly, the motor being disposed inthe same horizontal plane as the main gear; the main gear, centrifugal brake assembly, gear train assembly and motor all being positioned within a housing in spaced, parallel, closely adjacent horizontal planes to thereby form a low-profile motor driven operating mechanism adapted for selective installation in either an overhead or floor-type revolving door installation.

13 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEUFEBNIQH f 3,717,954

SHEET 10F 5 FIGI PATENTED 3.717, 954

SHEET 3 or 5 Q [[llllllllllllll V PATENTEU P55211913 3,717; 954

SHEET l 0F 5 FIG? PATENTEB FEB 2 71975 SHEET 5 BF 5 MOTOR DRIVEN OPERATING MECHANISM FOR REVOLVING DOORS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention of the present application relates to a motor driven revolving door operating mechanism having a speed control assembly of the type disclosed in my US. Pat. No. 3,307,660, dated Mar. 7, 1967, wherein a gear train is positioned within a housing and operatively connected between the revolving door shaft and a centrifugal brake assembly, the housing containing a volume of oil which not only provides continuous lubrication of the gear train but also coacts with the braking assembly to provide a smooth and dependable braking action. The housing, gear train, and brake assembly are constructed and arranged to have a relatively thin, lowprofile to render the mechanism readily adaptable for selective mounting in either overhead or floor-type installations.

In my US. Pat. No. 3,349,876, dated Oct. 31, 1967, there is disclosed a motor driven operating mechanism for a revolving door wherein the motor is connected to the gear train and centrifugal brake assembly through a flexible drive shaft and clutch assembly.

SUMMARY BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the revolving door operating mechanism and speed control assembly with a portion of the cover plate cut away;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, top plan view showing the pancake type motor employed in the operating mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, top plan view of a modified form of the revolving door operating mechanism and speed contrOl assembly wherein the 'motor and speed control are disposed in different positions relative to each other than that shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, top plan view of another modified form of the revolving door operating mechanism and speed control assembly wherein the motor and speed control are disposed in a different relative position than that shown in either FIG. 1 or FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional, side elevational view of the revolving door mechanism of the present invention adapted for mounting within the floor, and employing a clutch assembly on the motor output shaft;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of the clutch assembly employed in the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of a. retainer washer employed for selectively immobilizing the clutch assembly employed in the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 12 is an enlarged, top plan view of the centrifugal brake assembly employed in the mechanism of FIG. 9.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the operating mechanism of the present invention comprises a housing 1 having a stub shaft 2 rotatably mounted therein by anti-friction bearings 3. The stub shaft, which is adapted to be connected to the end of the revolving door shaft (not shown), is of the type described and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,403,571, dated Oct. 1, 1968, the shaft being secured to the hub of the gear train main gear 4 by a key 5.

The main gear 4 is operatively connected to a centrifugal brake assembly 6 through .a gear train assembly designated generally by reference numeral 7. The gear train assembly is similar to the assemblies described in my above-identified patents; thus, for the sake of brevity, suffice it to say that the necessary pinions and intermediate gears are employed for providing the desired gear ratio. The centrifugal brake assembly is also similar to the brake assembly disclosed in my aforementioned Pat. No. 3,307,660 and includes a pair of spring biased brake shoes 8 (FIG. 4) slidably mounted on a shaft 9, a volume of oil 10 also being contained within the housing to not only provide continuous lubrication of the gear train but also to coat the walls of the brake housing with a thin film of oil to thereby provide a smooth braking action.

The essence of the present invention is the concept of mounting an electricdrive motor 1 1 within the housing such that it is in substantially the same horizontal plane as the main gear 4. The drive motor 11 is connected to the centrifugal brake assembly 6 by which the main gear 4 is driven through the gear train assembly 7. The main gear 4, gear train assembly 7, centrifugal brake assembly 6, and motor 11 are all positioned within the housing 1 in spaced, parallel closely adjacent horizontal planes to thereby form a lowprofile, motor driven operating mechanism adapted for selective installation in either an overhead or floor-type revolving door installation.

In order to accoMplish this low-profile feature, a pancake type motor 1 1 is employed having its stator 1 la mounted within the housing 1 and its armature 1 1b keyed to the centrifugal brake shaft 9, as at 12. Suitable brusheS 11c carrying current to the commutator lld are mounted on the housing cover 1a. A partition 13 extends between the motor and brake assembly to seal the motor from the volume of oil which would also be provided with electrical insulative properties.

In the normal operation of the revolving door operating mechanism and speed controller, a person desiring to pass through an entranceway, within which the revolving door is mounted, enters the door enclosure in the usual manner, and by pushing on the revolving door closes a suitable switch means connected to an electricalcircuit to energize motor 11 to thereby drive shaft 9 which, in turn, simultaneously drives the centrifugal brake assembly .6 and gear train 7 connected to the revolving door shaft. The centrifugal brake assembly is set so that the brake shoes do not engage the brake wall when the door shaft is being driven by the motor; however, if the user wishes to pass through the door at a faster rate than that at which the door is being driven by the motor, the increased rate will be transmitted through the gear train to the centrifugal assembly, thus actuating the brake shoes, to thereby limit the rate of rotation of the door.

While the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. I and 2 shows the motor 11 mounted concentrically with respect to the centrifugal brake assembly 6, FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an embodiment wherein the motor 11 is disposed between the main gear 4 and centrifugal brake assembly 6; and FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate still another embodiment where the brake assembly 6 is interposed the main gear 4 and motor 11. In all these embodiments, while the motor 11 may be disposed in different positions relative to the brake assembly 6, it is alWays mounted in substantially the same horizontal plane as the main gear 4 to thereby maintain the lowprofile feature of the mechanism to render it readily adaptable for selective mounting in either an overhead or floor-type installation. In this connection, the housing 1 would be selectively provided with rollers 14 (FIG. 1) and detents 15 in an overhead, roll-away construction, as described in my aforementioned Pat. No. 3,307,660, or rubber shock absorbers 16, or locking bolts 17 employed in a floor-type installation.

While FIG. 2 illustrates an oVerhead-type operating mechanism, FIG. 9 shows a floor-type mechanism, wherein a knock-out-portion lb is formed in the bottom wall of the housing during the fabrication thereof. This portion is retained in the bottom wall when the mechanism is to be mounted in the floor but removed when the mechanism is to be mounted in an overheadtype installation as shown in FIG. 2. In the floor-type installation, the housing cover plate la is formed with an aperture 10 through which a stub shaft 18 extends, the shaft belng keyed to the main gear 4 as at 19. A suitable seal 20 is mounted on the main gear and is adapted to engage the bottom surface of the housing cover, another seal 21 extends around the periphery of the housing and also engages the bottom surface of the housing cover, and still another seal 22 is mounted on the top surface of the housing cover and is adapted to engage the stub shaft, whereby the egress of oil from the housing and the ingress of water, dirt, dust and other debris into the housing is prevented.

In the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 2, the rotor or armature 11b of the motor is keyed as at 12 to the centrifugal brake assembly shaft 9, whereas in the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 9, Torrington clutch assembly 23 is mounted between the shaft 9 and hub lle of the electric motor 11. By this construction and arrangement, when the motor 11 is driving the door the clutch 23 will grip the shaft 9; however, when the motor is de-energized and the door is on manual operation, or when an individual pushes the revolving door at a speed faster than that which the door is being driven by the motor, or in a direction opposite to the rotation of the motor, the clutch disengages thus disconnecting the motor hub lle from the shaft 9.

In order to render the clutch assembly ineffective, a retainer washer 24 is detachably connected to the shaft 9 and motor hub lle by suitable machine screws 25. When the retainer washer 24 is mounted in operative position, the motor 1 l is essentially keyed to the shaft 9 in the same manner as in FIG. 2. However, if there is a power failure and it is desired to place the revolving door on manual operation, the retainer washer 24 may be removed, thus, rendering the clutch assembly effec tive.

To complete the description of the mechanism shown in FIGS. 9, l0 and 12, a thrust bearing 26 is mounted between the end of the Torrington clutch assembly 23 and an anti-friction bearing 27 secured between the shaft 9 and the partition 13 extending between the motor 11 and centrifugal brake assembly 6, the brake assembly including spring-biased brake shoes 8, of the type disclosed in my aforementioned Pat. No. 3,307,660.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is not intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What is claimed is:

I. A motor driven operating mechanism for a revolving door comprlsing, a housing, a main gear rotatably mounted within said housing, said main gear adapted for connection to the revolving door shaft, a motor mounted within said housing and disposed in substantially the same horizontal plane as the main gear, and gear train means rotatably mounted within the housing and operatively connected between the main gear and said motor, said main gear, gear train means and motor all being positioned within said housing inspaced, parallel, closely adjacent horizontal planes to thereby form a low-profile motor driven operating mechanism for selective installation in either an overhead or floortype revolving door installation.

2. A revolving door operating mechanism accordlng to claim 1, wherein the knock-out portion is formed in the bottom wall of the housing, said knock-out portion being removable from the housing wall for receiving the revolving door shaft when the mechanism is mounted in an overhead-type revolving door installation, said portion remaining in the wall when the mechanism is mounted in a floor-type revolving door installation.

3. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein an over-running clutch assembly is operatively connected between said gear train means and said motor.

4. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim I, wherein a centrifugal brake assembly is positioned within said housing, said gear train means being operatively connected to said centrifugal brake assembly; said main gear, gear train means, centrifugal brake assembly and motor all being positioned within said housing in spaced, parallel, closely adjacent horizontal planes.

5. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 4, wherein a volume of lubricating fluid is contained in the housing and being at all times in contact with the braking surface of the centrifugal brake assembly and the gear train means upon rotation of the revolving door shaft, whereby upon rotation of the shaft beyond a predetermined speed the centrifugal brake assembly is actuated to smoothly govern the speed of rotation of the revolving door.

6. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim .5, wherein a partition is mounted within the housing between the motor and the centrifugal brake assembly to seal the motor from the volume of lubricating fluid '7. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim ll, wherein the motor comprises, a pancaketype motor having its armature and stator contained in substantially the same horizontal plane as the main gear.

8. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the brushes for the motor are mounted on the housing cover.

9. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the motor is mOunted concentrically with respect to the centrifugal brake assembly.

10. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 9, wherein the motor armature is keyed to the centrifugal brake assembly drive shaft.

11. A revolving door operating mechanism accord ing to claim 9, wherein an over-running clutch as sembly is mounted between the motor armature and the centrifugal brake assembly drive shaft.

12. A revolving doOr operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the motor aS positioned within the housing between the main gear and centrifugal brake assembly.

13. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the centrifugal brake assembly is positioned within the housing between the main gear and motor.

i t l 

1. A motor driven operating mechanism for a revolving door comprIsing, a housing, a main gear rotatably mounted within said housing, said main gear adapted for connection to the revolving door shaft, a motor mounted within said housing and disposed in substantially the same horizontal plane as the main gear, and gear train means rotatably mounted within the housing and operatively connected between the main gear and said motor, said main gear, gear train means and motor all being positioned within said housing in spaced, parallel, closely adjacent horizontal planes to thereby form a low-profile motor driven operating mechanism for selective installation in either an overhead or floor-type revolVing door installation.
 2. A revolving door operating mechanism accordIng to claim 1, wherein the knock-out portion is formed in the bottom wall of the housing, said knock-out portion being removable from the housing wall for receiving the revolving door shaft when the mechanism is mounted in an overhead-type revolving door installation, said portion remaining in the wall when the mechanism is mounted in a floor-type revolving door installation.
 3. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein an over-running clutch assembly is operatively connected between said gear train means and said motor.
 4. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a centrifugal brake assembly is positioned within said housing, said gear train means being operatively connected to said centrifugal brake assembly; said main gear, gear train means, centrifugal brake assembly and motor all being positioned within said housing in spaced, parallel, closely adjacent horizontal planes.
 5. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 4, wherein a volume of lubricating fluid is contained in the housing and being at all times in contact with the braking surface of the centrifugal brake assembly and the gear train means upon rotation of the revolving door shaft, whereby upon rotation of the shaft beyond a predetermined speed the centrifugal brake assembly is actuated to smoothly govern the speed of rotation of the revolving door.
 6. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 5, wherein a partition is mounted within the housing between the motor and the centrifugal brake assembly to seal the motor from the volume of lubricating fluid.
 7. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the motor comprises, a ''''pancake-type'''' motor having its armature and stator contained in substantially the same horizontal plane as the main gear.
 8. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the brushes for the motor are mounted on the housing cover.
 9. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the motor is mOunted concentrically with respect to the centrifugal brake assembly.
 10. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 9, wherein the motor armature is keyed to the centrifugal brake assembly drive shaft.
 11. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 9, wherein an over-running clutch assembly is mounted between the motor armature and the centrifugal brake assembly drive shaft.
 12. A revolving doOr operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the motor aS positIoned within the housing between the main gear and centrifugal brake assembly.
 13. A revolving door operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the centrifugal brake assembly is positioned within the housing between the main gear and motor. 